Guardian UK: In Kansas City, school's out

[marmar]

In Kansas City, school's out
The closure of almost half of Kansas City's schools shows what can happen when the wealthy opt out, and services suffer

Sasha Abramsky
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 11 March 2010


Twenty-nine out of 61 Kansas City, Missouri, schools will soon be shuttered in a desperate bid by the struggling school district to stave off bankruptcy. At the same time, close to one-quarter of the city's school employees will lose their jobs.

While many districts around the country are closing under-enrolled-in or low-performing schools in an effort to save money, the scale of KC's decision puts it in a league of its own. Students around the city will be disrupted by the changes, as they lose teachers, have to travel further to school each morning, and possibly see their class sizes grow.

The number of students in Kansas City's public schools – 18,000 – would indicate that it is a small town. But there's not much that's small about Kansas City. In fact, the core of the city, which is Missouri's largest urban hub, has nearly half a million residents, and the broader metro area is home to approximately 2 million people.

Yet for decades its public schools have been in crisis and have haemorrhaged students. .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/mar/11/kansas-city-schools-closure